Cage free, free range, pasture raised, what’s the difference? A standard grocery store egg with no labeling about how the birds have been raised typically means the egg comes from a hen in a 67 square inch cage, a cage with a floor plan as about as large as a standard 8.5″ by 11″ piece of paper. Hens are given food and water, but they cannot move much. The crazy thing is that your fancy organic eggs can be raised like this, the only difference is these caged hens are given organic food.
Cage free eggs
Cage free means the hens are no longer in cages. They can roam freely — indoors in a giant warehouse. Conditions will vary from clean, well lit, and ventilated to really quite nasty. Do a Google image search to see what these operations look like.
In my state, Oregon, a law was just passed mandating all eggs sold in the state be cage free by cage free by 2024.
Free range eggs
Free range should be a minimum standard for ethical eggs, because if you viewed the link to the Google image search above, “cage free” may not be doing a lot for the conditions of the hens. Free range adds another layer to cage free — it adds “outdoor” access. Here’s the actual USDA definition of “Free Range”:
“Eggs packed in USDA grademarked consumer packages labeled as free range must be produced by hens housed in a building, room, or area that allows for unlimited access to food, water, and continuous access to the outdoors during their laying cycle. The outdoor area may be fenced and/or covered with netting-like material.“
Access does not equal achievement. Just because there is a door and an outside area does not mean the hens will go there. Also to note, there’s no mention of the outdoor conditions — what’s the ground like, dirt of paved? Sunlight? How large is the area?!
Some farmers absolutely rock the socks off of this – they may provide pasture, and large open areas. That’s what we like to picture at least — but it’s the exception, not the rule.
A Tale of Two Yolks: Free Range vs. Pasture Raised Eggs
In comes, pasture raised eggs and the “tale of two yolks.” Can you guess which one is pasture raised?
The answer:
The egg on the left: a Pasture raised egg from the Happy Egg company.
The egg on the right: is free range, organic, and certified humanely raised. It comes from a Mennonite farm here in Oregon.
That left egg has the darker yolk, and comes from the pasture. Actual pasture adds a new level to a chicken’s life. Chickens are voracious and curious. They peck through grass and eat bugs and the grass itself. They will chase down, kill and eat a mouse if they can find one. The pasture ads a whole new level to their being.
The darker yolk, why? All hens are given food – this is typically commodity crops like corn, soy beans, and grains. Remember before when I mentioned organic eggs – these can literally be chickens being fed giant bags of “organic” corn and soy.
Have you ever seen eggs labeled “vegetarian” fed. That just ain’t right. Chickens are not vegetarians, though at an industrial scale, providing protein to chickens is quite expensive and challenging.
With access to pasture, hens will hunt and forage, and eat bugs and greens they find. They’ll likely still eat commodity feed, but they have a fundamentally different existence and diet than the hens who lay standard, cage free, and even free range eggs. It’s the difference in diet that leads to the darker yolks.
For me, it’s worth the extra $3-$6 to make the leap from industrial eggs to pasture raised.
Happy Egg Co. Pasture Raised Eggs
My favorite pasture raised egg company is: Happy Egg (with the beautiful dark orange Yolk pictured above) Though they’re based in Missouri, they list their farms, and regularly post photos of the hens on pasture. A dozen eggs typically costs $5-$7. I don’t like that these eggs are traveling so far to get to me, that’s a concern, but for the guarantees that these hens live good lives on family farms means to world to me.
Vital Farms – Pasture raised eggs and butter
Vital Farms, no egg pictured here, but Vital Farms is another go-to for me for pasture raised eggs. They also offer pasture raised butter – which is a whole other rant. Have you seen how cows are treated in commodity dairy?! Vital Farms goes above and beyond to demonstrate ethical and pasture raising of their animals.
A dozen eggs is $6, or $9 for organic.
Pasture raised butter is $5-$7.
I know these prices are steep — the premium comes with documentation of how well there animals are treated, and a better tasting and quality food.
Eggs and butter are two of my favorite foods. I’m willing to pay more for premium quality and the knowledge that the sustenance they’re providing me does not come from distressed animals.
Happy clucking.
Acknowledgements:
This article was inspired by this awesome YouTube video that breaks down the difference between standard, cage free, free range, and pasture raised eggs.
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